Leaving Town Alive
by Kimblekn
Summary: Heartbroken and betrayed, Haley James leaves Tree Hill and ends up in Mystic Falls.  She never expected to fall in love with anyone, let alone someone as messed up as Damon Salvatore.


**(AN: Damley has been haunting me for awhile, but I refused to write it because 22VodkaShots who wrote the one that inspired me, wrote one that was SO kick ass that I didn't dare to write something. But I finally gave in. I hope you guys enjoy. I realize that this is majorly long. I was tempted to make it two parts, but I didn't want to give into temptation. I hope you guys still read, and maybe review!)**

**Warning: It's really dark at points. I must be deranged for writing it. And there are some sexual parts. You've been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD, OTH, or Bethany Joy Galeotti who sings, "Leaving Town Alive", which I use.**

()()()

"_So till the morning breaks  
Go and make your mistakes  
Don't be surprised if your heart hurts  
Life is for the living, the forgiven and for leaving town alive" _

()()()

"Miss?" The bartender at the Mystic Grill, in Mystic Falls, Virginia called an eighteen year old Haley James on a nice June night.

"Yeah?" She asked, briefly lifting her brown eyes from her water.

"Do you want anything stronger then water? You look like you might need it," he said, with an understanding smile on his face.

She was about to say something like, _"No, and how about you stop trying to get underage girls drunk," _or, _"And you look like you could stay out of my fucking business, now let me wallow in my misery," _but she was beat to the punch.

"Get her a shot of whiskey. My treat," a low voice ordered. Haley slowly turned her head to look at the man who had ordered her a drink, probably hoping to get in her pants. He was tall, dark, and handsome. Just her type and Brooke's too, she reminded herself bitterly. Her eyes got drawn onto his, and she was disappointed to see they were blue, and so much like _Nathans_…her mind was drawn back into her depressing memories.

_ "I didn't mean for this to happen, Haley!_" _Her first love explained to her, with a sincere expression etched onto his face._

_"I don't care if you meant to do it!" She exploded, throwing clothes into a suitcase. He rushed over and threw them back out._

_ "Don't. Don't leave me," he begged. He couldn't stand to see her leave him. He loved her._

_ "You cheated on me Nathan! And when I asked you if it was a mistake, you didn't know!" She exploded, with tears streaming down her face._

_ "I couldn't…I can't choose, Babe," he explained in a whisper._

_ "And I can't be second best," she returned, before walking out of their apartment door, and his life._

"Hey, you ok?" The bartender asked, putting the drink in front of her.

"Peachy," she shot back in an annoyed tone. He just raised his hands in surrender before walking away. She turned her head to look at the man she had zoned out on. Yeah, he was hot; she could admit that to herself.

"Having dirty thoughts about me?" He questioned with a sexy smirk. She just stared at him, with emotionless eyes, and no expression on her face. "Tough crowd," he muttered, before throwing back his drink and calling over the bartender again. Her tips twitched, and he smirked again in response.

"Funny," she deadpanned; despite really thinking he was kind of funny.

"I know," he grinned, and it called laughter out of her throat. "So, why are you throwing yourself a pity party?"

"Private," she barked out, not wanting to share her deep dark secrets with a stranger.

"Come on," he whined. "Sharing is fun!" He encouraged, in a teasing manner, she was starting to think was his normal attitude.

She bit her lip, thinking about whether or not she should share, and felt his eyes get drawn to it. The simple notion made her whole body heat up. It had been awhile since a man looked at her like that.

"I'm officially," she said quietly, pausing in anticipation for the pain that the next word would cause her, "divorced."

If he was shocked that a girl her age could be married and divorced already, he didn't show it. "So you're celebrating?" He questioned in a bored tone.

She raised her eyebrow at that. She was boring him? Well, screw him, then! "You know, if you don't care, don't ask," she bit out.

She finally surprised him. His eye brows rose faintly, before he smirked again. "You going to drink that?" He questioned, motioning towards her whisky. Her eyes darted from him, to the whisky. She didn't know what would happen if she drank it, but it might end up being something she would regret in the morning. Then again, why did she care? She was eighteen, single, and hoping to drown out some of her pain. A one night stand, if it happened, might help her. Brooke used them as a tool to get over break-up.

And with that thought of her traitorous ex-best friend, she had her answer. "Why the hell not?" She questioned herself, before following the mystery-man's lead and throwing down the drink.

He smirked in response, quickly looking her up and down. "That's just what I was thinking."

()()()

Two young bodies stumbled off of the street and down a dark alley, connected at the lips. Their hands were wondering, and their lips were traveling. The larger figure – the guy – pushed the smaller figure – the girl – roughly up against a wall. His lips traveled to her neck, where his eyes were intently focused. They were so caught up in the moment, that nothing could break them apart, and he was about to go in for the kill, when she pushed him away with her, much, weaker hands.

"What's your name?" She questioned, breathlessly. Her drunken mind was struggling to think as it would if she was sober. For the life of her, she couldn't remember any reasons to not be making out, maybe more, with the gorgeous guy in front of her.

"Doesn't matter," he said shortly, his eyes still focused on the veins in her neck. She was a divorced runaway, no one would miss her. Not to mention, she smelled _so _good, and was definitely not hard on the eyes. She was the perfect kill. He was in for a treat tonight.

"I'm Haley," she stated stubbornly. She wanted to know his name. Not that she could remember, why or anything.

"Damon," he returned, before pushing himself back up against her, and kissing her forcefully. He would make this good for her, he decided. He would make her last experience on earth an enjoyable one. With that thought his hands softly brushed against the sides of her breasts, bringing a moan out of her full lips.

At the feel of his wondering hands, Haley's drunken mind was reminded _why _she had been drinking in the first place.

_ Nathan kissed his wife softly, loving the feel of her under him. Loving everything about kissing her. He had a good life, he was aware of that. Not only did he have a funny, talented, and beautiful wife, but he had a fun, outgoing, and sexy mistress. Sure, he felt a little bad for how he was treating both of them. Promising Haley to always be faithful to her, and then breaking that promise. And promising Brooke to end things with Haley, and not having any intentions of doings so. But what he was doing felt __**good **__above all else._

_ Haley flipped them to where she was on top. She ran her arms up and down his chest, before looking straight into his eyes. "So I talked to Brooke today," she stated in a low tone. She noted how he tensed up at the name of her best friend._

_ "Yeah?" He questioned back, nervous about what exactly his mistress told his wife._

_ "And she told me something interesting, that I didn't believe at first, but obviously my brain and mouth aren't on speaking terms today."_

_ "Haley," he said in a nervous tone. Her deep brown eyes bored directly into his blue ones._

_ "Are you cheating on my, Nathan?" She asked the question that would forever change her life._

"No," Haley muttered as the world came back into focus. Damon had moved down onto her neck again, and was softly nibbling there while working on the buttons on her shirt. "No," she said more forcefully, before pushing him away.

Haley didn't have enough force to move Damon, but the shock of her actually pushing him away made him move. He stared down at her, from a few inches away; looking every bit of the monster she didn't know he was.

"What?" He hissed out, and the sound was so menacing it made her flinch.

"I can't, I want to, but I can't. He was the only one who I had ever, you know, with and he didn't want me! He wanted Brooke, and because of that I should be able to," and she paused, still too shy to say anything sexual, "sleep with you," she whispered, before returning her voice to it's normal tone, "but I can't! I mean, I don't know you! And…" she rambled on.

Damon listened to her and he wanted to reach out and drain the girl, listening to her shrieks of terror, because _fuck _could she be more annoying? But he just couldn't. It wasn't just the doe eyes that reminded him of Elena's, it was her words that made him stop. He had just pegged her as another heartbroken girl, but he didn't fathom she could be in the same boat as him. They were both on the loosing side of a love triangle, and he couldn't help but see himself when he looked at her. And that was not a good feeling for Damon Salvatore, but he just couldn't kill her.

He couldn't stand the sight of the girl-woman in front of him. The girl who was too young to be in as much pain as she obviously was. So he disappeared into the night, not even checking to make sure she got home in time. That would be _way _too much like Stefan for his liking.

Haley ended her monologue when she noticed that they mysterious Damon was gone. She stared at the empty ally, before vomiting up every thing in her stomach. "Now," she started to herself. "What way is home?"

()()()

A knocking on her shabby apartment door woke Haley up the next morning, followed by an intense pounding in her head.

"Aspirin," she choked out, as she gripped her head in pain. The mystery person knocked at the door. "Leave me alone," she muttered, flopping back down on her bed, before calling out, "Coming!" She grabbed the bottle of aspirin on her way to the door, fiddling with the bottle as she threw open her front door. She was shocked to see none-other than the guy from the night before – Damon – standing in her door way. The shock made her drop the aspirin bottle. She started to lean down to get it, but he beat her to the punch.

"Let me," he grinned, before reaching down and picking up the bottle. He looked at it before his smirk expanded. "Killer hangover?" He questioned.

Her pout was answer enough, and then she grabbed the bottle from his hand, hastily opening it and popping two pills into her mouth, and swallowing them dry. "What are you doing here, at my apartment at all, let alone at this ungodly hour?" She questioned, planting her hands firmly on her hips.

"Ungodly hour?" He questioned back. He let out a little snort of laughter. "It's twelve O'clock Haley," he informed her.

"Oh, well," she muttered, embarrassed that he caught her on the day she slept in.

"I felt bad for leaving you in that alley yesterday," he lied convincingly. "So I wanted to invite you to lunch. I promise hangover foods," he assured her.

"Don't feel bad," she said sweetly, touched that he wanted to apologize to her. Maybe she was wrong about him; maybe he wasn't after one thing. "All you missed was me throwing up."

He let out a chuckle, and she smiled up at him. It was a sweet moment to Haley and any other outsiders, but to Damon he was imagining ripping out her throat and bathing in her blood. He knew he could do it. He would _not _let this human girl best him. He was the heartless Damon Salvatore. The girl would be dead by the end of the week.

"Will you go out with me for breakfast?" He asked her charmingly.

"I could go for some hangover food," she conceded. "Just wait out here a minute while I get changed," she informed him, moving to shut her apartment door. He caught the door before it could close.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" He asked with mischief in his eyes.

"Uh, no," she laughed, sobering up at the confused look in his eyes. "You could be some sort of psychopath," she explained. "I mean, _hell_, you could disorganize my kitchen drawers!" She exclaimed with real horror in her voice. She stared at him with wide brown eyes.

"Your kitchen drawers are organized?" He questioned back, miffed by her last statement.

"Aren't yours?"

The plan was simple from the beginning. He formed it after he left the girl alone in the alley. He would get close to her, charm her, and then he would kill her. He didn't like being weak, and that's what he felt from the moment he realized he couldn't kill her. But he could, he was convinced of it. Haley didn't stand a chance against him.

()()()

She started work at Mystic Grill a week later, her freshmen year of college a month after that. Money was tight for her. Heck, money was more than tight for her. More often then not she would eat Roman noodles for dinner, because she didn't have money for anything else. But she was getting by. She had to save up for a car, and then a cell phone – she destroyed her old one in a moment of anger when Brooke called her. She would get her degree though, and then she would leave. At times she was tempted to call up Chris Keller and see if he could stop by Virginia.

The work at Mystic Grill was similar, and yet so different from the work she did at Karen's Café. The basic mechanics of it was the same. Take orders, deliver plates of food, fake smiles to customers, and bus tables, but the customers were more handsy at Mystic Grill. Mystic Grill was also a bar, so there were drunken old men trying to cop a feel all the time, but she knew how to take care of herself. Not to mention that they were being scared off by Damon Salvatore.

Damon would stare at her from the bar as she worked. It creeped her out the first few times, but then she grew accustomed to it. On her breaks she would either talk with Damon, or with a girl named Caroline she met. The blonde girl was the girlfriend of a guy named Matt who worked with Haley, and the two girls got along. Caroline was Haley's first friend, beside Damon, in Mystic Falls.

()()()

She also spent her weekends in the Mystic Grill, when she wasn't hanging out with Caroline and her friends. She would sit with Damon as he drank; never touching her own drink in fear of history repeating itself. One Saturday the routine was the same, when noticed Damon's attention had moved from her. He was starring at a pretty brunette, who was one of Caroline's friends, with a handsome guy beside her. The girl – Elena, she remembered – leaned up and placed a sweet kiss on the guy's chin, and Damon's hand clenched into a tight fist. At that moment Haley realized why Damon was so interested in her.

"Ah, Damon," she sighed, calling his attention onto her brown eyes. He looked over at her with a glare, mad at being interrupted from staring at the girl he so painfully loved. "It seems you and I have move in common then I thought," she noted, nodding towards the girl he so obviously loved.

"Yeah, yeah. We're the two chubby kids not chosen for a team in gym class. Nothing to bond over," he snarked, his eyes traveling back to Elena's pretty profile.

"Wouldn't dream of it," she laughed, with an eye roll. As she went back to her drink, Damon's eyes went to Haley instead of Elena and he once again wondered _why _he couldn't kill her.

()()()

One night months later, after their usually routine continued on, Haley and Damon walked through the small town at night. She loved looking at the stars, while he was _once again _trying to get the courage up to end her life. She paused in the middle of the street, arms out, head up, eyes closed, and neck exposed. It was the perfect moment for him to suck her dry, but he couldn't. He was transfixed with the picture she made.

"Trying to get me to send you to a crazy bin?" He questioned, referring to her erratic actions.

"No," she said in a whisper, not giving into his teasing like she usually did. Headlights illuminated the street, where a car was coming. She didn't move a muscle. He walked over to her, and grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her out of harms way. "What are you doing?"

"_You're _asking _me _that?" He hissed out. "You about got hit!" Her head moved to stare after the car.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes returning to his. He pushed her away from him roughly.

"I don't care. I wouldn't have cared if that car would have _crushed _you!" He informed her in a heated voice.

"But you would have," she revealed, and crushed their lips together.

In the long run, they couldn't stop with one kiss and the two became an 'item' of sorts. They kissed, and hung out, and sought comfort out of each other, but never slept with one another. They shouldn't have worked together, but they did.

()()()

No one understood why Haley was with Damon. As far as they knew, she was a sweet girl, and Damon was…not. Caroline especially didn't understand why her new friend put up with Damon's ways, having already been through them herself. But she was a firm believer in letting everyone make their own mistakes, so she didn't voice her opinion too often. Then there was Elena Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore. They really didn't like her being with Damon. The two cornered her one day, when she was working, but Damon was no where to be seen.

"Can I take your order?" Haley asked, flashing a brilliant smile to Elena, who she considered a friend. Granted she wasn't as close to Elena, or her friend Bonnie, as she was to Caroline, but she was still friends with the girl. Elena reached across the table and put her hand on her friends.

"I was wondering if you had a second to talk," she said instead of ordering.

"So, no food?" Haley questioned in a cute manner, earning a laugh from both Stefan and Elena.

"No food," Stefan confirmed. Haley nodded her head, and looked around for a co-worker, and spotted Matt. She had befriended Matt quickly, finding him a nice and honorable guy. She had always been a tom boy anyways, connecting deeper with guys then girls.

"Hey, Matt!" She called across the room. He turned from where he was working and flashed her a smile.

"Yeah?"

"I'm taking my break a little early," she informed him, motioning to where Elena and Stefan were sitting, right beside her. Stefan nodded his head, and Elena gave him a small wave.

"Ok, I'll cover you. Just make sure you put up your apron in…" he was cut off, by Haley throwing her apron at him, tied in a tight little ball.

"Do it for me?" She asked sweetly. "Thanks, Mattie," she said brightly, before plopping down in a chair. She laughed when she heard Matt mumbling incoherently. "What's up, Guys?"

"We wanted to talk to you," Stefan started, shooting a look at Elena that told her _she _had to be the one to tell her friend.

"We're worried about you," Elena says softly, grabbing Haley's hand again.

Haley laughed lightly. "Why?"

"This _thing _you have going on with Damon, it's not healthy," she stated, and Haley's eyebrows shot up challengingly. Stefan tensed up when he heard Damon enter the room, but neither Elena nor Haley had his vampire senses, so they had no idea Damon was within hearing distance.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, you guys don't _fit _together," she went on to explain.

"Like you two would," the other girl supplied, and both the other occupants of the table tensed up. Haley laughed bitterly. "What? You didn't think I knew that you two and Damon made up this epic love triangle? _Please_," she scoffed, "it's written all over his face every time he looks at you, Elena."

"This isn't about that," she protested, fiercely. It _wasn't _about her own jealous rage. It was about doing the right thing. Haley scoffed, and Elena gripped her hand tighter. "It's not," she gritted out between clenched teeth.

"We're worried about you, Haley. Damon is bad news, and he can never love you the way you deserve to be loved," Stefan piped in, sending her an apologetic look.

"I know," she admits with a shrug. "But who the hell are you to tell me what I deserve? You know little about me," Haley reminded them, and Damon took that opportunity to join the conversation.

"And lets keep it that way," he added in, hooking his arm around her shoulder.

"Damon, we're just…" Elena tried to explain, but Damon wouldn't let her.

"Putting your noses where they don't belong," he filled in, before turning around and trying to take Haley with him, but she shrugged out of his hold. "Woman," he scoffed, before walking away to the bar.

She put her hand on Elena's shoulder. "Thank you for the concern. It means a lot. _Really_," she stressed. "But…"

"You're not going to take a bit of it to heart," Stefan filled in with a rueful smile.

"Nope, probably not," she chirped out. "But thanks anyways!"

"Just promise you'll be careful," Elena stressed.

"Careful is my middle name," Haley assured, before walking off to Damon, and then back to her job.

"A relationship with Damon," Stefan mused with a grim smile. "How long do you think she'll last?"

Elena never answered. She just stared after her new friend with a mixture of jealousy and worry.

()()()

It was only a month after that, when Haley finally let go of the past and slept with the man, she was falling in love with. How could she not love him, though? Sure, he was a little dark, and never let her in all the way. Not to mention the fact that he was in love with another person, but so was she. And he was handsome, fluent, charming, sexy, funny, and made her blood boil. What else could she wish for?

They came together in a rush of passion, lust, and what felt strangely like love. He paid special attention to her neck, and she briefly entertained the thought that he might have a neck fetish. And when they were done, and had expressed themselves in the purest fashion, she laid her head on his naked chest, and he laughed at her as she tried to catch her breath.

Damon Salvatore prided himself on never lying to those he loved. And only in the dark recess of his mind would he admit that he had somewhere along the lines fallen in love with Haley James. Maybe not as obsessively as he had loved Katherine or as intently as he loved Elena, but he did love her. So, he was starting to feel guilty about not telling Haley that he was a vampire, but every time that feeling came on he pushed it aside. He was Damon Salvatore and he did not _ever _feel guilty. And deep down he was afraid. Yes, _afraid_. What if she left him, when she out the truth? Could he handle loosing another love? Could he hide the truth for much longer? He had the worst trouble not biting her when they slept together. How long could he keep the human charade up?

He laughed when she couldn't catch her breath. "Did I wear you out?" He asked cockily, loving the fact that he did.

She pressed a loving kiss to his chest. "Mmhm," she moaned. "You did." After that they were both quiet, not words exchanged as they laid together. He stroaked her hair lovingly, and she snuggled into his chest. After a few minutes, he decided enough was enough.

"Ok, this is getting too mushy for me," he declared, sitting them both up, and watching with rapture as the sheet fell off of her, showing her naked skin.

"You love it," she countered, tiredly. She moved out of his hold, and threw herself back down on his bed, face first.

"What are you doing?" He asked, amused.

"Sleeping," she mumbled. His smirk grew, and he crawled across the bed until he was straddling her from behind. He started kissing her back, effectively waking her up. Then, suddenly he pulled away from her.

"Damon," she whined, looking over at him from behind her shoulder.

"Put this on," he ordered, throwing the black button-up shirt he had been wearing earlier, at her. She sat up and just stared at it. "I hear footsteps on the stairs," he lied. What he did hear was his pest of a brother, about to interrupt him. She shrugged, and put on the shirt. When she saw his eyes darken, she smirked and stood in front of him.

"How do I look?" She questioned coyly. His eyes devoured her.

"Black is definitely your color," he complimented, pulling her on his lap, and brushing her golden hair out of her face, before kissing her. An unnecessary knock on the door interrupted them, and she sat on the bed beside Damon, instead of on him. "Go away," he called to the door.

"Come in!" Haley countered, and Damon sent her a playful glare. Stefan came walking in, looking pissed and uncomfortable at the sight he saw. "Hi, Stefan!" She chirped, having a soft spot for the younger Salvatore brother.

"Haley," he said in greeting, with a small smile. He turned to look at his brother. "Can I talk to you?" He questioned.

"Go ahead," Damon invited, with a smirk.

"Alone," the younger brother bit out.

"I have company," the older brother countered, wrapping his arm around his scantly clad girlfriend.

"Damon," Stefan said in a warning tone. Haley couldn't hold in her laugh anymore. When both brother turned to look at her, she put both hands over her mouth to cover up her laughter, but it didn't work.

"What's so funny?" Damon asked dryly, raising his eyebrows at his goofy girl.

"Nothing," she laughed out, shaking her head. She sat up on her knees and kissed her boyfriends cheek chastity. "Go talk to your brother."

"You just want me gone so you can snoop," he countered, and she just shrugged with a small smile.

"I'll give you five minutes, before I start snooping," she promised him. "And I might just sleep instead," she bargained.

"Unacceptable," he growled out, kissing her hotly. She started getting into the kiss until Stefan coughed. "Go away, Stefan." She pulled away quickly, her cheeks bright red.

"No, no, no, no, no! Sorry, Stefan," she apologized, and he just nodded. "Now," she addressed Damon. "Go talk. I'm going to bed." And to emphasizes her point, she flopped down on the bed.

The two boys left, and Haley closed her eyes to get some Z's before Damon came back up.

Once they were down stairs, and away from the snooping ears of his girlfriend, Damon turned to his little brother with a glare. "What is it?"

Stefan matched his glare. "Haley is a nice girl, Damon."

"_So?_"

"You're just playing with her emotions, Damon! You're never going to love her. You're not capable of real human emotions," he accused heatedly.

"I would choose your words very carefully, Little Brother," Damon growled, suddenly in his brother's face.

Haley was awaken from her light slumber, minutes later, by a giant crash. She jumped out of Damon's bed, and ran out the door, looking to see what the sound was. She was frozen to the spot when she got to the edge of the stairs. There, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's brother were fighting. And not arguing, or even throwing punches. The sight she saw wasn't plausible or _right_. There Damon stood with his hand wrapped around his brother's neck; he lifted him in the air, before throwing him across the room. Damon's head whipped around at the sound of her gasp. She rushed back into his room, intending to put on her jeans, and get, the _fuck _out of there, but Damon's caught her arm, and whipped her around.

"How did you…it's not…how…?" She stuttered out, staring into his cold blue eyes. Before he could answer, he was propelled out of the window, by his little brother's body. Haley stood frozen in place, tears pouring down her face, before she ran to the window to look out it. She saw Damon glaring at Stefan, and pulling a shard of glass out of his side. He looked so _inhuman_ at that moment, that she had to take a step back, and unfortunately she stepped on a piece of glass. As blood started gushing out of her foot, Damon and Stefan's head's whipped up to stare at her. At that moment she realized what her boyfriend was. His face was gruesome, he was _fast_, didn't die from being thrown out a window, and he, obviously, could smell her blood. He was a Vampire. Maybe, possibly, _but it wasn't possible!_

"Oh, dear god," she said, panic clear in her voice. "When did I step into a badly written teen book?" She asked herself, as she continued to walk away from the window. Before she could get to far away, Damon was in front of the broken window. His face looked human again, but his eyes were cold and deadly. "Get away from me," she ordered, grabbing her jeans off the floor and pulling them on. Damon took a step closer, and she took two back, stumbling into a hard body. She whipped around and saw Stefan standing there, apologies written on his face. She let out a shriek, before clumsily turning away and putting distance between her and the two brothers. Damon was in front of her the next second. He cradled her cheeks in his hands as she cried silently.

"Damon," Stefan said his voice hard. He had absolutely no romantic feelings for the girl, and he was happy his brother found someone, but she was his _friend_. And he didn't want to see Damon ruin her.

"Get away from me," she cried with desperation in her voice, and it was like a slap in the face for Damon. She found him disgusting. She found out the truth, and she hated him for it.

He stepped away from her and looked at her with hatred in his eyes. "Fine," he spat out, and she cringed at the sound of his voice. His eyes hardened even more. "Run away. It's your forte, isn't it? Things get hard and you run like the coward you are," he spat out.

"You're dead," she sneered. "A vampire, right?"

"Well, someone ate their Wheeties this morning," he spot back, and then sighed. "You want to leave? Then leave. No one's stopping you," he told her, giving up. And he watched as she left, fully intending on watching her walk out of his life.

()()()

He found out he couldn't do it. He couldn't watch her walk away, as she would inevitably do. So he found himself at her apartment. He went into her bedroom, and found her sitting on her bed, hugging his shirt that she had been wearing earlier. He took a quick scan of the room, and saw where she had obviously thrown her suitcase off her bed. So, she had been planning on leaving town. He didn't find that shocking, but it still hurt. The hurt went away slightly when he saw how her eyes lit up when she saw him.

"Damon," she whispered, looking at him like he was the second coming. She had been so worried that she screwed up what they had. That she had permanently pushed him away. And she was shocked when she realized that she couldn't stand the thought.

He leaned against her doorway. "Leaving?" He questioned, nodding to where her suitcase was.

She threw his shirt down on the bed, and looked at her suitcase she had thrown. "I was going to leave," she stated, brutally honest.

"I was going to let you," he countered, looking at her intently. She turned her head slowly, and looked into his eyes. Warm brown met ice blue, in an almost symbolic fashion.

"What changed?" She had the guts to ask. She swung her feet off of her bed, and stood up.

"I remembered I'm not the self sacrificing bleeding heart Saint Stefan is," he bit out in typical Damon fashion. She watched him closely as he walked towards her.

"Is this your way of telling me you love me?" She finally asked. He stood in front of her, and fixed her with an icy glare.

"I don't love you," he denied. She stared at his hard face, and brought her hand up to caress his cheek.

"Liar," she said with the upmost conviction in her voice. He didn't deny that, or even confirm it. But he did crush his lips against hers, and they went tumbling onto her bed.

()()()

No one in their right mind could accuse Haley and Damon's relationship of being a healthy one. While she brought some humanity out in him, he sucked some out of her. They were changing each other permanently, and neither could find themselves to care. They needed each other fiercely.

Haley knew the truth about Damon, and had even grown to get used to it, but Damon had never told her his original intentions concerning her. But he knew he had to. So one day, he showed up at her apartment as she was working on an English assignment. She smiled at him, used to him showing up at random times, but didn't stop her typing. He knew then, as he watched her work in silence that he had to tell her. So in typical Damon fashion he just blurted it out.

"You know, when I first met you I didn't have any intentions of actually liking you. I was going to drain you in that alley way and dispose of your body. I wanted to kill you. All throughout the beginning of our relationship I wanted to kill you," he told her, actually fearing her reaction. She closed the lid on her laptop, and looked at her through her open eyes. She had already accepted that he had more faults then anything else, and she just couldn't find herself to care about him wanting to kill her. In all honesty, back then she wouldn't have cared if he would have killed her.

"I often feel that way about you, and figure you don't need to know, but thanks for sharing Honey!" She shot out sarcastically. He just smirks and chuckles in response.

()()()

The obscene fights that they partaken in almost become a routine. Usually what happens is either Damon or Haley gets jealous, yell the same hurtful words, and then hour's later one will come crawling back to the other. Only for the same thing to happen, weeks later.

"I cannot believe you," Haley laughed as she walked into her apartment, after hearing Damon yell at her on the ride over to her place. She was at her place of employment, _doing her job_, when Damon got jealous over the look some guy was giving her. And then he had the gull to blame her!

"_You _can't believe _me_?" He shot back incredulously. He lies down in the center of her bed, clutching her favorite toy, Mr. Waffles, in his hands tightly.

"Yes," she confirmed and then looked over at him. Her mouth fell open at what she saw, because he was _strangling _her toy bear. "And stop strangling Mr. Waffles!" She cried, running over and ripping the bear out of his hands.

"Why can't you believe me, Haley?" He demanded his voice as condescending as always. "I wasn't the one letting someone else fuck me with their eyes!" He snapped out.

"What was I supposed to do? Gouge his eye balls out?" She cried. "And anyways, why is someone not allowed to check me out, but you can drool over your precious _Elena_?" She spat out in a disgusted tone, tired of her boyfriend being in love with another girl.

Damon's face hardened instantaneously. Haley certainty knew where to hit a guy. "You knew from the beginning that she would always be my first choice," he bit out the hurtful words; he knew would break her heart. "Just like I knew Nathan would always be your first choice. Even if he didn't want you," he delivered the final blow that he knew would end the fight.

"Leave!" She shrieked, and he did. No questions asked.

They both knew he would be back only hours later. And they both knew she would forgive him instantaneously. It was how their twisted relationship worked.

()()()

He thinks often of the fact that she's growing older. Could he watch her grow old and die? He knew, _he just knew_, she never gave a second thought to becoming a vampire. She didn't want it. And he loved that about her. She wasn't a hopeless romantic, and _fuck _that was hot. Sure, she used to be one, but she knew how cruel the world could be, all romantic notions had been beaten out of her head.

Sometimes, when she's snuggled up into his side at night, he'll think of snapping her neck, because it was getting to the point where they exchanged blood on a daily basis. Every time they made love, as she insisted he call it, he drank from her, nothing being better than taking blood from your lover, but he refused to take without giving back. There was something just so sensual about exchanging blood.

He knew that if he ever did kill her as she slept, she would reserve a nice pointy stake for his heart, but he couldn't help but want to spend eternity fighting with her. It was all he craved.

()()()

A year later, and Haley's door bell rang. A still very human Haley James jumped off of her boyfriends lap, and opened the door. And to her utter astonishment, there Brooke Davis stood in front of her. The taller brunette smiled hesitantly, and Haley wasn't sure whether she wanted to punch or hug the girl.

Brooke seemed to make the decision for her, as she pulled her into a fierce hug. "I missed you!" She squealed, and Haley found herself silently agreeing.

"What are you doing here, Brooke?" She questioned, and as soon as she said the words, she knew she shouldn't have said her name. Not with Damon's vampire hearing. He would want some form of revenge for her, she knew it. And that didn't sit well with her. Before she knew what was happening a strong arm was resting on her shoulder.

"Who's this, Hales?" Damon questioned, already knowing who the girl was, but having to keep up a human charade. He wanted to rip the girl's throat out for betraying Haley.

"I'm Brooke Davis," she stated with pride, sticking her hand out for Damon to shake, but he never did. Brooke just shrugged and looked the guy up and down. She definitely liked what she saw. "And who might you be?" She questioned back suggestively, reaching out a hand to put on his arm, but it was slapped away by Haley. Brooke's attention snapped back on her former friend, and she saw the murderous glare the smaller girl was giving her.

"His name's Damon," she snapped out. "And do you _always _have to act like a dog in heat?" Damon shook with laughter behind her. He had definitely rubbed off on her. And he _loved _the fact. He once again entertained the thought that she would make an amazing vampire. If only she would let him turn her, he thought wistfully.

Brooke was shocked for two seconds before her eyes narrowed. "You have _no right _to talk to me like that," she declared.

Haley stepped out of Damon's hold and into Brooke's face. "Oh, I don't? Do I?"

Damon watched the two attractive girls with interest. "Should I get some pudding for you two to wrestle in?" He questioned casually.

Haley turned around quickly. "Shut _up, _Damon!" She snapped, but then he did his infamous eye thing and her face softened.

Why Haley was so pissed at her, finally dawned on Brooke as she watched the two interrupt. "Oh!" She gasped, and both head's turned back to her. "I…you two are…I stepped over a line didn't I?"

"Wow, not the brightest crayon in the box, is she?" Damon asked rhetorically. And Haley tried to smother her laugh, she _really did_, but she just couldn't.

"And that wasn't the most original insult, was it?" Brooke shot back, not failing to notice the way Damon's eyes narrowed dangerously. He was creeping her out.

"Do you ever have an original thought, in that head of yours?" He returned. Brooke opened her mouth to say something, but Haley cut her off.

"Not that this isn't _fun _or anything, but I have to leave for work soon. So tell me Brooke, what are you doing here?" She asked, once again.

"We miss you, Hales," she said, and Haley froze. "We were so close back then, and we can be like that again," she pleaded. "Just come home."

"Are you and Nathan together?" Haley asked the question that she really didn't want to know the answer to. She felt Damon tense up behind her.

"Yeah," she admitted with a small smile. "But we can work around that, Haley! Just come home," she pleaded once again, worried that she might have ruined her case.

Haley returned the smile. She then looked at Damon, and her smile grew. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. "I am home," she explained.

"Haley," Brooke sighed in that cute way, that made Haley miss her twenty times more. She was about to open her mouth, and tell Brooke to come in. That she wanted to ketch up. When Damon spoke.

"Now if you don't mind, _Brookie_. We were kind of busy before you came, so…" and he trailed off as he shut the door in Brooke's face.

"You are _so bad_," Haley commented with a laugh.

"I just wanted to _discuss _the 'home' comment you made," he said, and then threw her over his shoulder, taking her to the bedroom.

Even Brooke could hear the squeals Haley made, and she smiled: happy her friend found someone she so obviously loved. Brooke Davis walked away from the shabby apartment feeling lighter.

()()()

That feeling didn't last long for Brooke. She saw Damon Salvatore at a local bar only hours later, and sat down with him. Minutes later she was out in the alley way, wondering why, and wondering why all of Haley's lovers had to cheat on her. She protested weakly as Damon stalked towards her. He then cradled her cheek in his hands.

"This'll only hurt a lot," he promised, before he sunk his teeth into her neck roughly. That's the scene Haley walked out to. She let out a shriek, before trying her hardest to pull Damon away from Brooke. When he pulled away, he looked animalistic and scarier than she had ever seen him. She cringed away, and his face returned to normal. Brooke was forgotten on the ground, holding her wound, with her eyes wide and scared.

"What the hell!" Haley demanded. She looked down at Brooke, and then joined her on the ground. She noticed how her former friend shied away from her, before letting her look at her wound.

"What?" Damon asked innocently. Haley's eyes flashed dangerously as she looked at Damon.

"What! Oh, nothing," she shot out sarcastically. "I thought you stopped…_doing this_!" She cried.

"Doing what? Killing people who hurt you?" He supplied a more accurate time.

"If that's what you think you're doing, then you might as well stake yourself," she shot out, taking off her over shirt and pressing it against Brooke's wound. Damon just looked at her, before turning and walking away. "Yeah, walk away! And you call _me _a coward!" She called after him, hoping he would turn back around, and not _leave her_. But then Brooke whimpered, and she knew she had more important things to take care of.

()()()

"So, you're dating a vampire?" Brooke summed up the story that Haley had just been telling her. They were sitting on Brooke's motel room, feeling like their old selves again.

"Yeah," Haley sighed, wondering what she would say to Damon the next time she saw him. How _could _he try to kill Brooke?

"That's so _Twilight_," she referenced, dreamily.

"Not quite," Haley scoffed. "Damon's not as nice as Edward."

"You're telling me," Brooke mumbled, rubbing her neck absentmindedly. "Can I ask you something?" She asked minutes later.

"Shoot."

"Why are you with him?" Brooke dared to ask. "He seems…_dark_, Haley. I can't see what you see in him."

"I love him. I can't help that," Haley explained.

"Yeah, I'm the poster child for 'you can't help who you love', but he's _evil, _Haley!"

"He's not evil. He loves me, so he can't be all bad, right?" She questioned, her friend. Brooke reached over and grabbed her hand reassuringly.

"But he's bad enough. If you want to be with him, you're going to have to give up some things that are important to you," Brooke foresaw.

"Like you did with me, to be with Nathan," Haley pointed out.

"Exactly," she confirmed, with tears in her eyes. With shaky hands, Haley wiped them away.

"I missed you, Tigger."

"You too, Tutor Girl."

When Haley got home, Damon was sitting on her bed.

"I wanted to get revenge," he explained.

"I don't want revenge. I have you," she told him softly, before kissing him on the lips. He responded eagerly.

()()()

Things returned to normal after that. Brooke's visit was forgotten, and Haley and Damon seemed to get even closer because of it. Haley was plagued by Brooke's words though. She knew she had to give some things up. Did she want to be the other half of Damon's dysfunctional whole? Did she even have a choice? When she made up her mind, he was the first person she told.

"I love you," she told him one day, as she walked into his room at the boarding house.

"I know," he answered simply. She never had to say it, the fact was clear.

"And I know you love me," She went on nervously.

"I know," he answered once again. She sat beside him on his bed, taking his face into her hands.

"Do you ever think about forever?" She ventured. He just nodded. "So do I. I want to be with you, Damon."

"You are with me," he told her unnecessarily. She laughed.

"I want to be with you forever. I want you to turn me," she admitted, shocking him.

If he were Stefan, or one of those heroes in the young adult books, he would try to talk her out of the decision. He would try to save her humanity, but he wasn't self sacrificing in the least. Her forever was the only thing he wanted, and who was he to kick a gifted horse in the mouth?

"Are you sure?" He questioned to make sure.

"Absolutely," she assured him, before moving to lay on his bed.

"Now?"

"Why wait?" She shot back.

"I can't think of any reason," he responded with. He climbed on top of her, bit his wrist, and offered it to her. "Drink up," he advised, and she did so. When she had drank plenty, he laid beside her, and cradled her to his side.

"I love you," she told him, looking up into his blue eyes.

"I love you too," he promised. "Close your eyes."And she did, being completely trusting of him.

As the crack of her neck filled up the room, tears slipped from his eyes. He hadn't expected it to be that hard to end her life, but he knew within hours their new life together would begin.

So he waited.

()()()

"_Now and then you wonder  
Why life is for the living, the forgiven and the leaving town alive  
Life is for the living, the forgiven and the leaving town alive"_

()()()

**(Oh, goodness that was long. And very dark and angsty. Though, I personally love the ending. That was my first time writing Damon, let alone Damley so I hope I wrote him in character. If you thought I did ok, I'll write another one, if you thought I did a horrible job, I won't. But I already have another idea for a Damley in my head, so I hope you guys think I wrote him in character. And by the way, I'm a HUGE Delena fan, so it pained me to put her with Stefan. So…review?)**


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